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Viper gave a nod in agreement. “You’re probably right.”
He’d sabotaged my marriage to get what he wanted. Risked his son losing his wife so he could kill innocent people. My father was a ruthless man, but I hadn’t realized he was devoid of all emotion. “We’ll head out immediately.”
* * *
I found Larisa bandaging one of the guards.
King Elias was beside them, flat on his back with a gauze wrapped around his shoulder where he’d received a nasty cut from their claws. He looked pale, as if an infection was setting in.
“Larisa.”
“Yes?” She continued her work securing the gauze.
“We have to leave.”
“Now?” She got to her feet, a line of men still needing her attention.
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
“Then I’ll stay behind—”
“What exactly did my father say to you?”
She stilled at my abrupt question.
Cobra walked up at that moment, his eyes shifting back and forth between us.
“He asked me to convince you to pursue the Ethereal,” she said. “It was a lengthy conversation.”
“And you said no.”
She nodded. “I told him their execution wouldn’t bring back the people we’d lost.”
So, he’d tried a different approach, then resorted to the unthinkable last. “Viper just informed me that my father and the Originals are riding hard for Evanguard.”
Cobra’s eyes snapped wide open.
“I suspect he told you about my secret because he knew it would rip us apart. I would be so forlorn by our estrangement that I wouldn’t notice his movements.” The betrayal was like acid on my tongue. Vengeance for my mother was more important than his current relationship with his son.
“He rides on Evanguard as we speak?” Cobra asked.
“Yes.” I turned to him. “Grab your supplies and your horse. We need to leave immediately.”
Cobra took off at a run. He would probably head out before the rest of us, determined to get there as quickly as possible.
I didn’t try to stop him. Nothing would stop me if it were Larisa. “I can leave you here with a few men, if you’d like.” I didn’t know what would happen once I arrived in Evanguard. I hoped bloodshed would be spared in place of reason, but my father had stabbed me in the back, so why would he listen to me? It might turn into a war. Maybe it was better if she stayed. “I can leave Fang here with you.”
I assumed she would take the offer immediately, to enjoy her space from me, but she didn’t. “I want to help here at Raventower. King Elias informed me that a lot of citizens have fled to live in the wilderness because they felt unsafe in the city. The wounded need care, and I used to be a healer. But…I can’t leave you.”
Her words made my heart open like a flower.
“I’m not sure how much help you would be if you came. The only people who can reason with him are my brothers and me. And if I can’t, then it’ll turn into a battle…and I’d rather you not be there if that’s what happens.”
Her eyes dropped to her chest as she took a breath, thinking about her options.
I stared at her lips, the way they pressed tightly together when she was deep in thought. The armor was so snug on her alluring body. It always gave me chills when I saw her in it, a woman so strong and soft at the same time.
Her eyes lifted to mine again, probably feeling the rush of arousal that flushed through me. “Then I’ll stay. There’s a lot of work to do here.”
